Under and Over Seas
by Megasis
Summary: Liam Penhale learns at an early age that the world isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Taking place in the 18th century, pirates like to think they run the world, taking what they please and giving nothing back. However, pirates aren't the only problem Liam has to learn to deal with. This is only the beginning of a long untold story of a sailor.
1. Chapter 1- The Story Begins

_(Liam is 9 years old)_

"Luis come on!" Liam gibed, scurrying along through the long slick grass. It half hid him from view, being the little kid that he is and he would often try to jump out and scare Luis for his amusement. However, this joke had gotten old long ago for Luis and he was now getting a little cranky with his little brother.

"I'm comiiiing." He half groaned, rolling his eyes and trudging along after the form that was his little brother. "What did you drag me out here for anyway?" He said tepidly, looking around the area. It was early in the morning, and he wouldn't have minded being asleep right now, but Liam wouldn't have let him go back to sleep for anything. The annoying little creep...

"You'll see! It will be a lot cooler if you see it for yourself." Liam said with a grin, parting the tall grass (that he could barely see over) hopping over fallen logs and other obstacles that might cause him to trip and face-plant into the dirt.

"It better be for a good reason, more important than my sleep anyway, or so help me I'll get you later." Luis said in that slightly bone-chilling voice of his; the kind that made Liam a bit uneasy. He knew his big brother had been a bit... off lately, but he was supposed to be one of the good guys; he was supposed to be the one that took care of him. It was different hearing this kind of tone angled at him.

"It will be. I know how much you like to sleep in, but this is worth it." He said as the easy grin came back to his features. They eventually came to the clearing that led to the steep cliff looking over the ocean and instantly Liam scurried dangerously close to the ledge, pointing a finger. "Look!" He cried, half jumping in his eagerness. "Look out there!"

Luis wasn't even half as excited as his brother when he came over. His eyes widened slightly and he grabbed Liam's shoulders, pulling him back away from the edge. "You idiot, get away from the ledge! How many times have I told you?" He spoke, obviously irritated as he sighed softly, his eyes however still catching the object that Liam was referring to. A ship... a dark ship… and it was resting on the shore; the waves lapped up against the wood of the bow hungrily and up near the birds nest a flag soared with black colors and flashes of white. Pirates. "Liam- " He started, but then a shot blasted from somewhere and then screams followed it echoing into the forest to reach their ears.

Liam's eyes widened and he looked to Luis; his were eyes wide with fear, but Luis only clutched Liam close to him protectively. "Shh... come on." he murmured, keeping a stern expression on his features, only to stay strong for Liam, to show him it was okay even though he knew it wasn't. When this kind of thing happened, it was never good. So Luis turned them about and started running the way they came: back to civilization, to their home, to help.

They ran through the grass as silently as they could. Luis slowed his pace at times to allow Liam to breath as his lean little body was already half exhausted before they were halfway through, the poor little guy. However, they just kept running. It was as if Liam could sense the seriousness of the situation and knew they had to keep going. Small, but strong his little brother was. It made Luis proud.

They finally broke the tree-line and fell into their yard, stumbling through the shorter grass and onto the dirt path. Finally, their legs carried them to their little home, isolated from town. It had always fit them nicely and it was a good place for them both to grow up in, or so it had been so far. Luis finally let go of Liam and ran full blast toward their house, leaving little Liam in the dust as he skipped steps two at a time and came to the door. However, he paused as he saw it was left ajar and dirty footprints were tracked into their home. No...

Liam's little feet brought him to the porch, but before he could run inside Luis grabbed him and held him back while covering his mouth to keep him quiet. He had to keep his little brother safe... if anything he would do that. Liam flailed just a little bit but soon understood and his own eyes widened as they searched inside the main room and instantly seeing the evidence of multiple people having invaded their home. Then his mind wandered to Mom and Dad...

Liam's form instantly started to shake as he clutched at Luis's arm which was wrapped around him. Luis moved Liam to the side of him just a bit and put a finger to his lips to signal Liam to be quiet. His own face was stern as he slowly started into the house and started looking for any clues on what might have happened. He was just about to move deeper into the room when he heard clomping footsteps above their heads. They were still in the house.

Luis's eyes widened and he moved faster than the eye could see as he shoved Liam into their overcoat closet and squeezed in after him. He then wrapped his arms around Liam and put a hand over his mouth again; only a sliver of light shown into the closet.

Liam's wide eyes stared through the little crack in the door, allowing him to see into the living room as his little quaking body leaned back fully into Luis's for support. He was scared out of his mind. He knew what happened in this situation. He'd heard of it before. Pirates invading coastal towns, attacking the innocent, killing... He swallowed hard and closed his eyes tightly for a moment, but opened them once more as he heard more footsteps clomp down the stars, heavy breathing, and deep murmurs of voices. There were some chuckles, but that was it and he could see nothing... Then a man was standing right in his vision and Liam jumped, but luckily made no sound. He could see them, and so could Luis, but the bad men… they couldn't see them lurking in the closet. Liam was about to open his mouth to ask Luis why they weren't doing anything when he saw a form struggling in the arms of one of the men. She wore an off white night gown with curls of the deepest brown hair running in cascades down her back and almost to her waist, and Liam could already put a face to this woman. A most beautiful heart shaped face of soft angles and curves, a pointed nose with the pinkest lips, eyes the color of the Caribbean itself. Mom. Liam felt tears in his eyes and run down his face as he quickly shook his head and struggled against Luis. Mom. They couldn't let them do anything to her...

Luis furrowed his brows deeply and only tightened his hold on his little brother; his face contorted with emotions of sadness and anger and frustration, but there was just simply too many of those pirates. If they revealed themselves, they might as well have been dead already. Liam continued to struggle feebly against the big arms of his brother; he watched in horror as the man with the big hat and fancier clothing took out his sword with a 'shing' and held it to their mother's throat. One man held her steady as events unfolded. They murmured words that Liam and Luis could simply not hear, but they both watched in utter despair as they saw a little red trickle drip down their mothers throat and down her chest. "Please..." they heard her beg as tears of her own ran down her face. Her eyes wandered until they just so happened to land on the crack in the door. It was unknown to either of them whether or not she could see them, but that was cleared as she made a deft movement to her lips; a sign to them, a sign to stay quiet, but making it look casual so they would be safe from the pirates.

The pirates only laughed at her comment and the supposed captain stepped closer to her; the tip of his sword pointed at her chest and over her heart. "Wrong answer." They heard, and then there was a sort of sudden intake of breath from the room. Liam's eyes widened hugely as did Luis's as they witnessed what happened next. The captain had grown tired of her begging, and he was not a merciful man, so he had brought back his sword and thrusted it through their mother's middle. Her eyes widened as she looked over the shoulder of the captain and stared at Liam and Luis with huge eyes that showed shock, regret, sorrow.. and yet through all of this, her love for them shown. She had done this for them and so everything would be okay now. Liam would never know for sure, but he thought he saw her lips move, mouthing, 'I love you' and then her eyes closed and her body slumped against the captain as her blood poured from the wound in her middle. The guy then sidestepped and allowed her to sink to the floor with a sick plop; the captain wiped his blade on the off white of her gown as the rest of the men laughed and smirked deeply while they headed off into the night, leaving the house.

Liam was frozen, unable to actually comprehend what had just happened. It was just a dream or rather a nightmare... It had to be. However, that blood still looked very real and his mother looked real and... oh dear god. Liam finally broke of his frozen stature and screamed; his hands shook terribly as he worked to claw off Luis's hands which had, in a way, released their grip just a bit in his own shock. His own eyes were wide as he looked out the little crack in the door and Liam finally broke free and slammed open the door, running to his mom's side, tears running down his face as he slowly touched his mom's cheek with shaking fingers. "M-m-mommy..?" He asked quietly as tears ran down his face. "MOMMY!" He yelled next in hopes that maybe someway, somehow, she would hear him, but somewhere deep inside himself he knew his attempts would do no good. She was gone.

Liam sobbed by his mother's side for who know how long, but jumping as he felt strong hands on his shoulders. Luis. Even his usual firm hands felt shaky as he slowly sat down beside Liam and looked at him, shaking his head slowly. Liam's bottom lip trembled as he cried; eventually closing his eyes tightly and wrapping his arms around his big brother. Luis pulled Liam into his lap and stroking his head, trying to console him with a shaky voice; his own emotions showed through his usual stony features, making him look more human than he has in a long time. "Shh.. Liam.. it'll be okay... you'll be fine.. I'm here, I'll take care of you. You're going to be okay..." But was he really? He was only 9 years old...and Luis himself only in his teens. How were they going to cope with this? It seemed utterly impossible. Their mother... she was the most wonderful person, looking out for the both of them. Their father had always had to work and was hardly able to even look at either of them. What was going to happen now?

Luis looked down and saw the sharp features of her face; her skin already seeming to lose the soft pink in her cheeks, in her lips... she was gone. She was truly gone and she was never coming back. From now on things would never be the same. So, Luis-for the time being-sat there with Liam, holding him, allowing him to sob into his shirt, wondering if this horrid sense of loss would ever go away or if it would ever be healed.

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_Hey guys this is the first thing I ever posted on here so be nice please ;) Anyway I just wanted to tell a little bit about this story. I tagged Pirates of the Caribbean in it because that was the inspiration for these stories and characters, but there actually aren't any characters that I took from the Pirate movies except Davy Jones comes in at some point I think... but that's way later. Anyway I hope you guys keep reading. I'll be posting quite often because I have the stories done already, I just have to do some editing. Anyway, thanks guys and I'll be posting the next chapter soon. :)_


	2. Chapter 2- A New, but not so good, Life

_(A year or so after the incident; Liam is just turning 10)_

"Honey...sweetie..."

Liam heard the voice; the soft sweet voice that he missed each and every day. He felt the inside of him quiver with the deep longing, looking about the strange world, the whiteness, looking for the source of the voice.

"Liam." It called, the voice echoing into his eardrums. Then a soft yet firm hand touched his shoulder. "Get up my darling." The voice said again, the softest brush of warmth against his forehead, lips, then gentle fingers brushing his cheek. "Get up sweetie... happy birthday..."

Liam awoke abruptly, staring up into dark eyes, having been shaken awake. "Well it's about time, kiddo. Havin' a good dream were you?" Luis asked, straightening and walking over to get his boots by the closet, sitting on a chair to start to slip them onto his feet.

"I.. um yeah.." Liam said, a frown instantly appearing on his lips, tears stinging his eyes. He hated those dreams... but loved them at the same time. Being able to hear her voice, his mother's sweet calming voice, was the most amazing thing in the world. It was a deep pain and a sweet relief at the same time. He slowly sat up, his hair a tangled mess from his night of sleep, his hands reaching up to rub at his eyes. It was a good cover for the tears too.

Luis looked over at his response and pressed his lips together, his form instantly softening. He knew that look on Liam's face all too well. He saw it in himself almost every day at least once. "Hey... you okay Liam?" he asked softly, getting up and going over to him carefully, knowing that Liam was always ashamed, showing his vulnerability. Father was always getting on his case about it, that he was a big boy and that he needed to be strong. /Father/. He wasn't anything of the sort.

Liam slowly looked to Luis and bit the inside of his lip hard, nodding carefully and rubbing his eyes one last time, sniffling softly. "Yeah.." He said simply. It was almost all he said anymore. One word answers. Mother's death took its toll on everyone, but to Luis it seemed that it was taking the most out of his little brother. He never thought he'd think it, but he actually missed the little annoying twerp that was always so happy and curious... he just hoped Liam would get better soon.

"Well... here. I've got something that'll make your day better." Luis said, grinning just a bit as he got up and went over to the closet. He rummaged through the junk and finally found what he was looking for; a long dull color wrapped package, weighing it in his hands for a moment before turning and walking back across the room over to Liam before laying the heavy package across his lap and sitting next to him. "Happy Birthday, kiddo." He grinnged a bit as he already saw the light in Liam's eyes brighten a little.

Liam's eyes indeed brightened as he looked down at the wrapping paper; he bit his lip hard and looked to Luis with a smile. "Can I open it?"

"No, you're not allowed. Of course you can, you dork." he said with a soft laugh, clapping Liam on the shoulder. Liam grinned slowly and nodded a bit as he carefully peeled away the paper from the object hidden beneath. Liam's smile widened at what emerged from the paper. It was a beautifully crafted gleaming sword. The handle fit perfectly into his palm as he gripped it and then very carefully slid it from its sheath. His eyes admired the work. "I... Luis is this so cool!" he exclaimed, looking as happy and excited as he had in a long time.

Luis laughed softly and smiled in his own relief. He enjoyed seeing that smile on Liam's face. "I'm glad you like it." he said. He had worked for weeks on that particular sword. You see, Liam always shadowed him to work and bugged him, saying how cool all of the weapons he made were, so he decided it was the perfect gift… not to mention it was about time Liam had one of his own anyway. It was comforting to know that Liam could now protect himself from anything he may need protecting from.

"I love it!" Exclaimed Liam as he smiled brightly and weighed the metal in his hands. He bi the inside of his lip and looked to Luis with those bright blue eyes of his. "Will you teach me to fight?"

Luis grinned just a bit and he couldn't possibly squander this now. So, he nodded and ruffled Liam's head again as he got up to grab his coat. "Sure, bud. We wouldn't want you decapitating yourself or anything." Luis said, pressing his lips together and straightening his over coat before running his fingers through his hair. "But now I have to go to work and you have to promise to put that away until I get back and I can help you, alright?"

Liam pouted a bit and sighed softly as he slid the sword back into the sheath slowly running his fingers over the cold metal. "Okay." he said in a disappointed tone as he ran his fingers through his hair to attempt to smooth it out. He then slid out of bed and went over to his wardrobe to get dressed when a knock on the door caught his attention. "Liam?" A deep voice called, the door opening a crack.

"Yeah dad?" Liam replied, slipping on a shirt over his head and digging for some pants as their dad slipping into the room. "Oh, hello Cornelius." He looked to Liam then and grinned just a bit. "Happy birthday young man." He said and holding out an envelope. Their dad was... strange in his own way. He never really seemed to care for either of the boys; almost as if they were a mistake. And ever since mom died he's been worse; he was always half blaming them for her death. He loved Tricia with all his heart and he promised he'd take care of their kids, so now that is what he had to do; he had to become more involved in their lives.

Liam grinned just a bit and his eyes softened as he looked at his father. He tried, and Liam knew that was all his father could do. So he walked over and took the envelope, smiling softly. "Thanks dad."

Their father grinned, but he looked just a tad awkward as he did so and started shifting his weight on his feet as he looked at Liam with those dark eyes of his. "You're becoming a man now and I thought this would be appropriate." Liam's eyes dimmed just a bit as he said this. He ripped open the envelope and read it. Employment papers? "You'll be working with me now. Won't that be fun?"

Liam pressed his lips together and tried to keep the smile on his face, but there was a lump growing in his throat and he had to clear his throat a bit to keep it sounding strong. "Um, yeah dad um.. fun." he said, and of course being the blind man that their father was, he didn't see that the strain on Liam's face and how fake his expression was.

"Good. I'm glad you're as excited as I am." he said grinning as he turned toward the door. "Seeing as its your birthday we'll start this tomorrow. How about that?" he asked smiling as he did so. Liam just gave a slight nod and pressed his lips together tossing the letter onto his bed. "Thanks dad." He said half halfheartedly while biting the inside of his lip. His father just nodded and waved a hand. "Of course, son. Think nothing of it. Happy Birthday." Then he went out the door.

Liam then let his face fall. He sighed and ran his fingers down his face while Luis just sort of stood there as he was a little shocked then swallowing and looking to Liam. "You know you don't have to do that..." he started, but Liam furrowed his brows deeply and shook his head. "You know I do... you know how dad is." He said before running his hands across his eyes again and then straightening; he half stomped over to his wardrobe with jerky movements, anger making them forceful, then snatching out pants and slamming the drawer shut. Luis winced at the loud noise and biting the inside of his lip hard. "Liam," but when he opened his eyes Liam was down on the floor; his little form was shaking and his fingers were in his hair as soft sobs left his lips. Luis's heart broke right there and he came over quickly and bent down gathering Liam in his arms and hugging him close as Liam clutched to Luis's shirt for support. His sobs were heart-wrenching and what escaped his lips was enough to make Luis hold back tears. "I... I m-miss mom..." Liam cried. The pain inside him was so incredible, so deep, he didn't know how it would ever go away.

Luis furrowed his brows deeply and closed his eyes tight as he gently rocked Liam; he was trying to stay strong, to be a comfort. He couldn't do that if he was sobbing right along with Liam. "Shh... I know, I know, I do too..." He said softly, stroking Liam's hair and doing anything to coax his poor little brother. He was again reminded just how hard this was on the little guy.

Liam nodded and bit his lip hard, trying to make the tears stop falling, but it seemed impossible. Luis would have done anything, and so he said. "Hey.. hey... how about you come to work with me..? Like you used to... I'll even let you help. What do you say?" He asked, biting his lip hard as he stroked Liam's hair, knowing this could end in disaster, but come on, it was the little guy's birthday. He couldn't leave him when he was this upset.

Liam sniffled and looked at him with tear filled eyes reaching to quickly wipe them away. "You want me to come with you?" He asked, biting his lip hard, a bit unbelieving at this, but his eyes brightened just a tad as Luis nodded. It looking genuine and so Liam grinned just a bit and nodded as he wiped his face again. "Okay..." he said, pressing his lips together as Luis helped Liam to his feet. "Alright, then finish getting ready and we'll have to leave and start heading toward the shop then. And try to hurry or I'm gonna be late."

Liam nodded quickly; a little smile stayed on his face as he scurried to get his better clothes and going to do his usual routine of getting ready while Luis watched him go. He sighed softly and ran his fingers through his hair, then crossing his arms and going over to the window, looking out over their little town. The things he did for his kid brother...

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_Hello again I hope you guys are keeping up with the story. There's still plenty to come so please tell me what you think and the next chapter will be up soon. :3_


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